New Penn State Smeal scholarship bridges tuition gap for out-of-state students

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Brian Dreckshage set out to enhance his supply chain skills, he couldn’t find a program near his home in the greater St. Louis area that met his needs, he said. Undeterred, he expanded his search and found that the Penn State Smeal College of Business offered an online graduate certificate program that was exactly what he was looking for.

With support from his employer, Dreckshage completed a 12-credit graduate certificate program. When he learned those credits could be applied to a master of supply chain management degree, he re-enrolled at Penn State Smeal and completed the program in 2008.

“I was older when I enrolled in Smeal’s Master of Supply Chain Management program, but it was an excellent program and I can’t speak highly enough of it,” he said. “I was able to apply many classroom lessons over the remainder of my career.”

Acknowledging the strength of Smeal’s supply chain program — and wanting students from his home state to benefit from it — Dreckshage and his wife, Suzanne Watson, recently made a $500,000 commitment to endow the Brian J. Dreckshage Scholarship. Support will be awarded with a first preference for undergraduates with a home address in Missouri who are majoring in or planning to major in supply chain and information systems. Dreckshage said their goal was to make the cost of out-of-state tuition for scholarship recipients equivalent to that of Pennsylvania residents.

“Suzanne and I had already planned to establish a scholarship through our estate,” he said. “But we started having conversations about doing it now and both agreed it made sense. There’s something really gratifying about knowing our gift can help students from Missouri attend one of the top supply chain programs in the country, and to do so at the same cost as an in-state student.”

To ensure immediate impact, the couple committed an additional $45,000 to supplement scholarship awards while the endowment builds value. Because their gift was structured in this way, the first scholarship to close the tuition gap between out-of-state and in-state tuition was awarded last spring.

John J. Coyle Endowed Professor Kevin Linderman, department chair and professor of supply chain management, said that he was grateful to the couple for their investment in student success.

“This extraordinary commitment helps level the playing field for out-of-state students, making a Penn State Smeal supply chain degree more accessible and affordable,” Linderman said. “At Smeal, our supply chain program is consistently ranked among the best in the nation, and Brian and Suzanne’s gift ensures that more students, especially those from Missouri, can benefit from the opportunities and career pathways it provides.”

Dreckshage earned a bachelor’s degree in management and marketing from Missouri State University (formerly known as Southwest Missouri State University) in 1982, followed by an MBA in international business from Oklahoma City University in 1993.

He began his professional career as an operations and supply chain consultant with IMR and held various roles in consulting and supply chain management, including positions at Fred Jones Manufacturing and BKD, LLP. His expertise spans forecasting and demand planning, inventory, purchasing, transportation and logistics. He also spent time working in the defense industry before retiring in 2017.

Watson, who also attended Missouri State University, earned her doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1984 and spent close to 40 years as a general dentist before retiring in 2022.

“The cost of college has increased dramatically since Suzanne and I were students, placing today’s students at a huge disadvantage,” Dreckshage said. “While not every career path requires a degree, many do. We believe education is incredibly important, especially in a field like supply chain management, and we’re thrilled to be in a position to help.”

Donors like Brian Dreckshage and Suzanne Watson advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development; and increasing the University’s impact for students, families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.